STRI news
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panamá www.stri.org December 12, 2003Natacha Chandler (1967-2003)
STRI counselor Natacha Chandler, 36, died on Thursday, December 11 in Panama, due to a cardiac arrest. She is survived by husband Edgardo Molina, five year-old son Edgardo and three year-old daughter Valeria. Natacha began working at STRI in July, 1999 as staff attorney. Prior to that, she served as
independent sole practitioner and supervisor of the legal firm Price Waterhouse Corporate Legal Services in Panama, and as legal assistant at the law office of Joel Atlas Skirble and the R. Labbe Insurance Agency, in Maryland, US.
Natacha was hired to join a group of 34 STRI employees that undertook the important challenge of the transition process to ensure the local employment system complied with the Panamanian labor law, after the
termination of the Panama Canal Treaties in 2000. She was instrumental in successfully and smoothly achieving this difficult task, where innovative solutions had to be found so that
STRI's research and administrative activities were never interrupted. Natacha was responsible for overseeing and protecting STRI's legal interests in Panama and abroad. STRI joins her family in this difficult hour. She will always be remembered for her vivacious personality, her keen sense of humor and her friendly nature.
La abogada de STRI Natacha Chandler, 36, falleció el jueves, 11 de diciembre en Panamá debido a un paro cardíaco. Le sobreviven su esposo, Edgardo Molina y sus hijos Edgardo, 5, y Valeria, 3.
Natacha empezó a trabajar en STRI en julio de 1999 como abogada de la institución. Antes de llegar a STRI, practicó la abogacía independiente, y fue supervisora de la firma legal Price Waterhouse Corporate Legal Services en Panamá. Además, fungió como asistente legal de Joel Atlas Skirbe y la Agencias de Seguros R. Labbe en Maryland, Estados Unidos. Natacha fue contratada para unirse a un grupo de 34 empleados de STRI que asumieron el importante reto que significó el proceso de transición para asegurar que el sistema de empleo local cumpliera con el Código de Trabajo de Panamá, luego de la culminación de los Tratados del Canal en 2000. Ella fue instrumental para lograr, con éxito y continuidad, esta difícil tarea, donde debieron encontrarse soluciones innovadoras para que las actividades administrativas y de investigación de STRI nunca fueran interrumpidas. Natacha era responsable de supervisar y proteger los intereses legales de STRI en Panamá y en el extranjero. STRI se une a su familia en estos difíciles momentos. Siempre la recordaremos por su personalidad vivaz, su gran sentido del humor, y su don de gentes.
Tupper seminar
Tuesday, December 16, noon seminar speaker will be John Pandolfi, SI National Museum of Natural History Ecological persistence interrupted in Caribbean coral communities
Bambi seminar
Thursday, December 18, Bambi seminar speaker will be Aaron O'Dea, STRI Bryozoans upwelling and the formation of the Isthmus of Panama
Arrivals
Liliana Cortez, Universidad Veracruzana de México, Dec 13 - Jan 16, to study the levels and zone of hybridization among two species of howler monkeys Allouatta palliata and A. pigra, at Naos.
Thomas Duda, Dec 13 - Jan 16, to continue the project Killer Snails-Killer diversity:
Biodiversity and systematics of Conus, the largest marine invertebrate genus, at Naos.
Silvia Alvarez, University of Florida, Dec 14-20, to work with Kaoru Kitajima, on BCI.
Congratulations!
To Donna Conlon, winner of two major awards in recent art competitions, the First Central American Contest for Emergent Artists of the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design of Costa Rica, where she ranked second among 197
participating artists, and the Fifth Caribbean Biennial competition of the Museum of Modern Art, Santo Domingo, where she was awarded an art residency, one of three major prizes.
Oceans’ debate in Science
A letter in Science (November 28) by a group of scientists that include former STRI staff scientist Peter W. Glynn, from Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and colleagues in the US, join a series of Science contributions to a debate on the causes of the recent collapse of coral coastal ecosystems (Jackson et al. 2001 Science July 27: 629). The group, led by Richard B. Aronson from Dauphin Island Sea Laboratory, encourage the authors of the recent report
“Global trajectories of the long-term decline of coral reef ecosystems” by former STRI fellow John M. Pandolfi, STRI staff scientists Jeremy B.C. Jackson and Richard Cooke, and collaborators (Science, Aug 15: 955), to provide a more comprehensive argument to the hypothesis that overfishing caused corals to decline. Groups of international leading scientists are anxious to provide policy-makers with the widest range of factors that are decimating coral populations and hindering their recovery. Science is inviting researchers to submit responses to this debate. For those subscribed to Science, the debate can be joined at http://www.
sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/302/5650/1502b
Una carta en Science (28 de noviembre) por un grupo de científicos que incluye a Peter W. Glynn, antiguo científico de STRI hoy en Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science de la
Universidad de Miami y colegas en los Estados Unidos, se une a una serie de ccontribuciones de Science en un debate sobre las causas del reciente colapso de los ecosistemas coralinos costeros (Jackson et al 2001, Science 27 de julio: 629). El grupo, liderizado por Richard B. Aronson de Dauphin Island Sea Laboratory, le pide a los autores del reciente reporte “Global trajectories of the long-term decline of coral reef ecosystems” [Trayectorias globales de la desaparición de ecosistemas coralinos a largo plazo]
del John M. Pandolfi, antiguo becario de STRI, los científicos Jeremy B.C. Jackson y Richard Cooke, y otros colaboradores (Science, 15 de agosto: 955), a presentar un argumento más completo de la hipótesis de que la sobrepesca es la causa de la desaparición de los corales. Grupos de científicos internacionales importantes están ansiosos de mostrarle la gama más amplia de factores que están decimando las poblaciones coralinas y evitando su recuperación a gobernantes y administradores de recursos naturales.
Science está invitando a los investigadores que sometan sus opiniones en este debate. Para aquellos subscritos a Science, pueden unirse al debate en
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/302/5650/1502b
‘Bobby Colmillos’
recaptured
After one year, ‘Bobby Colmillos’, the largest ocelot ever recorded in the wild in the Americas including Texas, Mexico, Venezuela, Peru and Pantanal in Brazil, was recaptured by BCI automated telemetry project. On August, 2002,
‘Bobby’ weighed 15.8kg. This healthy male now weighs 18.4kg, beating his own record. To this date, the project has successfully monitored 11 of 12 captured ocelots using collared radios. Ricardo
Moreno (also in the photo) was assisted by Vilma Fernandez.
Después de un año, 'Bobby Colmillos', el ocelote de mayor tamaño que se ha registrado en vida silvestre en las Américas, incluyendo Texas, México, Venezuela, Perú y el Pantanal en Brazil, fue nuevamente capturado por el Proyecto de Telemetría en Barro Colorado. En agosto de 2002, “Bobby”
pesó 15.8kg. Este saludable macho pesa actualmente 18.4kg, rompiendo su propio récord. Hasta la fecha, el proyecto ha monitoreado exitosamente a 11 de 12 ocelotes que portan radios alrededor del cuello. Ricardo Moreno (también en la foto), contó con la asistencia de Vilma Fernández.
New
publications
Aronson, Richard B., Bruno, John F., Precht, William F., Glynn, Peter W., Harvell, C. Drew, Kaufman, Les, Rogers, Caroline S., Shinn, Eugene A., Valentine, John F., Pandolfi, John M., Bradbury, Roger H., Sala, Enric, Hughes, Terence P., Bjorndal, Karen A., Cooke, Richard G., McArdle, Deborah, McClenachan, Loren, Newman, Marah J. H., Paredes, Gustavo, Warner, Robert R., Jackson, Jeremy B.C., Hughes, T. P., Baird, A. H., Bellwood, D. R., Connolly, S. R., Folke, C., Grosberg, R., Hoegh- Guldberg, O., Jackson, Jeremy B.C., Kleypas, J., Lough, J. M., Marshall, P., Nystrom, M., Palumbi, S.
R., Pandolfi, John M., Rosen, B., and Roughgarden, J. 2003.
"Causes of coral reef degradation." Science 302(5650): 1502b-1504.
Laurance, William F., Albernaz, Ana K.L.M., and Da Costa, Carlos. 2003.
"O desmatamento esta se accelerando na Amazonia Brasileira? Is deforestation accelerating in the
Brazilian Amazon?"
BiotaNeotropica 1: 1-9.
Laurance, William F., Nascimento, Henrique E.M., Laurance, Susan G., Condit, Richard,
D'Angelo, Sammya, and Andrade, Ana. 2003.
"Inferred longevity of Amazonian rainforest trees based on a long-term demographic study." Forest Ecology and Management Online.
